An Extraordinar y Boy!

Mohd Umair Bin Mohd Marzaini, also known as Umair among his family members, is a 12-year-old Kumon student from Pulau Pinang. He shared that he was truly nervous when he first joined the Kumon programme. He wishes to improve his maths skills and knows that Kumon can help him with his schoolwork because he has seen his siblings excelling in their maths subject through the Kumon programme. As he progressed in the learning journey with Kumon, he learned how to prioritise his homework, whether it was Kumon or school homework. He shared, “Because I’ve been doing Kumon daily worksheets since I was a child, I learned self- discipline and now have the ability to manage my time efficiently in my daily life.” At school, he is active in sports and has joined the football and ping pong teams.

Name : Mohd Umair Bin Mohd Marzaini

Age : 12 years old

Achievement : 3 years advanced in Maths

Ambition : Biologist

Aside from athletics, he participated and competed in robotics at national level competitions, since he was in primary four until now. He began at the state level and worked his way up to the national level. In these competitions, he needed to come out with the best coding and programming to mobilise the robot, which he learned through joining the school’s coding club.. He aspires to be a biologist because he enjoys everything to do with animals. His passion began when he was a child, as he enjoyed reading books about animals.

Puan Azhana, Umair’s mother, stated that she first discovered about Kumon from a social media advertisement. Her daughter struggled to remember the multiplication table when they returned from the United Kingdom in 2016. That’s when she decided to enrol three of her children in the Kumon programme. After years of Kumon, she now feels relieved and proud when her children were able to perform far above their school grade level. “Kumon has a unique method that will help children learn better. I also like Kumon’s award system because it helps to motivate them – much like a morale booster for them when they’re down. I’m certain that Kumon has improved my children’s abilities not only academically but in other areas as well,” she shared. In sharing about how she disciplines her children at home, Puan Azhana said that she limits the use of gadgets at home. “We don’t have television at home! For me, having too many gadgets at home makes children reluctant to go out and explore the world, and it may also affect their emotions.” Puan Azhana always encourages her children to help with housework such as hanging clothes, vacuuming the house and watering the plants. “Each of my children will have their own housework that they need to do. I instil this habit in them from a young age. For me, once they have completed their housework, they can do whatever they want, especially reading,” she continued.

Puan Azhana concluded by saying that she is very pleased with the positive impact of the Kumon programme on her children. She acknowledges that each child has unique abilities and that it is a bonus if some children can adapt and progress more quickly than others. What’s most important is to trust the process!